Thursday, December 27,2007 @ 4:45pm
A-Data joins 64GB SSD fray
The Taiwan-based A-Data is the latest company to release a 64GB solid-state flash drive (SSD). In particular the company has actually released four drives with the capacity, in 1.8- or 2.5-inch sizes, and with a choice of SATA or PATA (parallel ATA) interfaces. Each is said to have special anti-shock protection, and use multi-level cell technology technology to fit its storage. Like all SSD drives, the A-Data models consume less power and have faster access times.
The 64GB threshold is significant, as for many users it is the point at which it becomes a practical notebook drive. It has been rumored that Apple will be using Samsung's 64GB drive in an upcoming notebook or UMPC, primarily because Samsung already supplies components such as processors and NAND flash for products like the iPhone. A 1.8-inch SSD drive could in theory be used in an iPod, but Apple has so far preferred to use unsheltered NAND or or regular hard drives.